


Slip Skin

by nekonexus



Category: Takeshi Kovacs Trilogy - Richard Morgan
Genre: F/M, Gender Issues, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 17:43:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/298380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekonexus/pseuds/nekonexus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Envoys know, you make the most of what you've got. Sometimes, that leads to unexpected encounters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slip Skin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Queue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queue/gifts).



I tossed the diplomat's cortical stack at Jimmy as I crossed the hotel room, not waiting to see if he caught it or if he even looked up from the holo-display on the table. All I wanted was a shower to wash a day's worth of carnage off my skin. Excising a cortical stack in the field might get easier with practice and the right tools, but it never gets any less messy. I felt like sweat and blood and bone dust had been ground into my pores, and my hair was a tangled disaster despite the tight braid I'd put it in hours ago.

With the diplomat in hand and his sleeve disposed of, the mission was essentially over. We'd be leaving in a few hours, needlecast across the galaxy and resleeved for our next deployment. In the meantime, I was certain that I hadn't been followed or tracked, and nothing was going to get past our security unannounced, so there was no good reason _not_ to indulge in a shower.

Turning the temperature up to the point of almost too hot, I shed my filthy clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower. The water sluiced down over my shoulders and breasts, and I finally began to relax. I took my time, enjoying the feel of soap and water and my own hands on my skin. Cross-sleeving was still something of a novelty to me; it was rare that I had time to just enjoy the wider range of sensation inherent to a female body.

At certain angles, the water stung my nipples, so I cupped my hands over them. Distracted by the soft, supple skin brushing against my palms, I moved my hands in slow circles until the nipples tightened into firm nubs. Reaching one hand down between my legs, I explored the damp folds of labia and rubbed a finger over my clitoris. It all felt really good, in a non-urgent sort of way, but I couldn't really relax while expecting to be interrupted at any moment. With a sigh, I gave up on exploring, and finished my shower.

When I emerged, wrapped in a hotel-supplied robe, Jimmy was just pulling off the 'trodes and blinking himself back into focus from a call.

"Still on schedule?"

He nodded and turned his attention to shutting down the construct.

"Were you in long enough to trace?"

"Don't think so."

Sinking down into a chair opposite Jimmy, I worked a comb through my hair. He didn't even glance at me while he deconstructed the various bits of equipment.

Or at least I didn't think he did.

"Our new friend must've been thoroughly taken in by your womanly charms."

"You sound surprised, Jimmy."

"He wouldn't be so convinced if he saw you now."

"Why?"

Jimmy shrugged and half-smiled. "You move like a guy in a woman suit."

"Yeah, well, I'm not trying to sell _you_ this identity, am I."

"You should be. Mission's not over yet."

I sat up, pushing my hair back over my shoulder one-handed. I found myself gripping the plastic comb like the weapon it could be, and forced my fingers to relax before I spoke. "You got a problem with my work, de Soto?"

"Only if you fuck things up, Kovacs." Dumping the boxed tech into a duffel bag, he grinned at me suddenly. "You should stay in character. Enjoy it while you can."

It took me a moment because - coming from Jimmy - it was so unexpected. "That has got to be the shittiest pick-up line in history, Jimmy."

His grin was unrepentant and bordered on leer. "Oh, come on, Tak. You've looked in the mirror. You'd fuck her, right?"

I frowned at him. "Jimmy, I _am_ her." And apparently I was Jimmy's type at the moment: tall, athletic, and pretty, if you liked strong Caucasian features.

Jimmy snorted. "Body language says otherwise. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it."

I'd been doing more than thinking about it, but I wasn't about to admit it. "Why are we having this conversation?"

Tossing the last cable in the bag, Jimmy turned to face me properly. "Because we've got a few hours to kill and we're stuck with each other?"

"So we might as well fuck." And it wasn't like either of us was going to feel guilty about it afterwards, or wallow in regret. It just wasn't in us, as Envoys.

Standing up, I untied the belt on the robe and shrugged it off my shoulders. Jimmy's gaze took in everything, more than once. I waited until he finally remembered to look me in the eye. "Just tell me something, Jimmy: is it me or the sleeve?" Call it self-centered or morbid curiosity - I'd go along with it either way - but Envoy intuition said there was more to this than just Jimmy being opportunistic.

He wet his lips and his eyes dropped back to my breasts. "It's your sparkling personality, Tak."

Which was about what I'd expected to hear, and not really an answer at all. We'd worked together a lot; I probably trusted Jimmy more than anyone else I knew, Envoy or otherwise. If I was going to experiment with anyone, it might as well be him, especially if I was likely to glitch and detach. I hadn't been in this sleeve long enough to be sure I wouldn't suddenly feel like a passenger, but I'd taken worse risks with Jimmy guarding my back.

Rolling my shoulders back to push my chest up, I leered back at him before turning to head to the bedroom. "Lose the clothes, then."

He stripped quicker than I expected, and caught me from behind before I'd reached the bed. Crossing his arms over my chest, he cupped my breasts and lightly pinched my nipples. I leaned back against him as his lips and tongue traced a line down the side of my throat. His penis brushed against my ass and I reached back to curl my fingers around its stiffening length. He moaned, nipping gently at my neck.

Taking a small step forward, I tugged Jimmy along with me until we reached the bed and he released me long enough for both of us to tumble down onto it. We lay there for a moment, face to face, hands tracing patterns on each other's bodies. When Jimmy opened his mouth, I pushed it down to my breast, offering him a nipple.

"Don't talk," I whispered.

His tongue lavished attention on my flesh in agreement.

Tangling the fingers of one hand in his hair, I grasped his erection again with the other. He ran his hand down over the mound of my pubic hair and curled his fingers, diving impatiently for my cunt. I arched and shivered against him as he pushed inside me, unexpectedly overwhelmed by the intensity of my vagina clenching tight around him.

My brain fragged. Everything stuttered sideways. Distant. Me the observer... experia sensory-overload... Jimmy fucking somebody else.

Releasing my nipple, Jimmy whispered, "Breathe." I forgave him the breach of conduct for the reminder.

It took a concentrated effort to breathe myself back down into the body, but Jimmy waited until I'd gotten myself balanced again. He watched carefully, not breaking eye contact, and I swear he knew the instant I was looking out at him directly instead of riding behind the sleeve's eyes.

He moved in and out with long, slow strokes until I relaxed and began grinding against him. I matched his pace with my fingers on his rigid prick. When he pulled away, I let him go and spread my legs wider. My soft moan of disappointment as his fingers withdrew turned into a gasp as he cupped my buttocks, lifted my hips, and drove his penis deep into me.

We fell into the rhythm at that point and fucked our way to a swift, spiralling climax that left us both breathless. Jimmy collapsed on top of me, panting against my sweat-slick skin. I curled my arms tight around him, shivering as after-shocks rippled through me.

I hadn't expected it to be that good... or rather, I hadn't expected Jimmy to be so attentive. It could've been just a straightforward fuck, but he'd made sure I enjoyed it, too. You could argue that that was just a situational combination of Envoy conditioning and intuition, and I wouldn't necessarily disagree, but...

I chased the edges of the thought around, but it didn't resolve into anything more than the possibility that Jimmy honestly gave a shit about me in ways I hadn't anticipated.

Then again, maybe it was just pheromonal compatibility between these two sleeves.

 _You take what is offered_ , as Virginia was fond of saying. ( _And sometimes, that has to be enough_ , she'd add, more often than not.)

After a while, habit made me check the time on my retinal display; less time had passed than I'd expected. Jimmy must have done the same, because he chuckled. His breath tickled my skin.

"Enough time to try again," he said, rolling onto the bed beside me.

"You recover that quickly?" I asked, reaching for his flaccid flesh.

He caressed my breast and bent his head down to lick one nipple again. "We'll see," he murmured against my skin, before tracing a line downwards with his tongue.

#

A couple hours later, we both showered and dressed, and slipped mentally back into our Envoy skins. Not with any regret, of course, but all too aware of how temporary every encounter was. We hadn't talked about it - we wouldn't - but I was sure I wasn't alone in hoping for compatible assignments and sleeves again in the near future.

Right now, we had an appointment to get to. Being late for the needlecast wasn't an option, and there was a good chance we'd encounter interference on the way.

"Ready?" Jimmy asked.

I nodded and shouldered one of the bags.

Next stop, Innenin.


End file.
